


i know we can discover the secret

by sophycroft



Series: tumblr prompts [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Short and Poetic, Tumblr Prompt, seriously this is barely long enough to count
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 15:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15342468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophycroft/pseuds/sophycroft
Summary: Continuity; or, Darth Vader has the Emperor when he has no one else.





	i know we can discover the secret

**Author's Note:**

> "No one has a heart of stone."
> 
> Vader + (Not Completely Evil) Emperor
> 
> Requested by @she-elf4 on tumblr

Careworn hands carded through blond hair. A gentle smile despite the hardships. A sure voice singing a lullaby to drown out the howling winds. The absolute conviction that there is good in the world, and that you must embody that good to others.

His mother's voice: “No one has a heart of stone, Ani. Listen to those who need to speak, and let them lighten your burdens in return.”

(A tearful hug in the hot sun. A strange new place. The sudden loss of what he barely had. A guardian who doesn't know how to grieve.

“No one has a heart of stone.”)

A warm office and a quick smile. A listening ear and grandfatherly advice. A comforting hand on his shoulder. The most powerful man in the universe focusing his attention solely on him.

His friend understands: “No one has a heart of stone, my boy. The Jedi Council is just too out of touch to see it.”

(A father-brother he loves but can't be honest with. The unspeakable horrors of war. Sanctuary found in the arms of the woman he loves. The fear that it will all be taken away.

“No one has a heart of stone.”)

An agony that never leaves. The sound of breathing that drives him mad. The voice that yet calls him friend but now calls him servant first. Precious words of acknowledgement from the only being in the universe who still knows him.

His master surveys their new empire: “No one has a heart of stone, Lord Vader. Who could look at what we have done and not be moved?”


End file.
